66,000 illicit nicotine pouches destined for UK seized in Kent

A van-load of 66,000 tubs of nicotine pouches on their way into the UK have been detained by the Kent Trading Standards’ ports team. But in a worrying turn, they are now warning the public about the potential dangers of these products.

With the text on the pouch packaging being in Spanish, it means the products fall foul of chemical labelling regulations, and as such had to be detained. Currently, there is no legislation for pouches in the UK, and strong variants could even lead to nicotine poisoning.

The pouches also come in a range of flavours like cola and strawberry watermelon which could lead to confusion with food, and some branding is clearly designed to appeal to the young.

As well as the work at the border nearly 4,000 of these sachets have been seized from high streets in Kent over the past 12 months, the designated Vapes Team reports. This team is a collaboration between Kent Trading Standards and Kent Public Health.

Kent Trading Standards Operations Manager Jim Whiddett commends responsible retailers who are abiding by a voluntary code and not selling the pouches to children. “A pouch might be dangerous or harmful to someone, depending on how they take it or how many they take. The Government has said it’s looking at new legislation and that’s something we would welcome because it would help to support consumers to make an informed decision and empower retailers.

“What our teams are finding at the moment in these products is they won’t have instructions for use, and they won’t be in English. They won’t have the certain warnings and pictograms on the labels, an exclamation mark, then the skull and crossbones when the nicotine in a product goes above 1.7% or 17mg. There is also a requirement for a tactile raised triangle to alert visually impaired consumers of the risk.”

Meanwhile, Anjan Ghosh (left), director of Public Health for Kent, said: “Illegal or largely unregulated nicotine products are a greater risk to health. It means you don’t know what’s in them, what to do if you swallow one, or how many it is safe to have, and they could make you ill.”